Free GP visits and $100m Pacific health investment in Greens alternative budget

The Green Party, in its first alternative budget, has unveiled their healthcare reforms - a move which is set to significantly impact Pacific health outcomes.

Greens co-leader Marama Davidson criticised successive governments for failing to invest in health in the past.

“It is just common sense - free GP visits will reduce the pressure our hospitals are under by stopping small issues becoming big ones that need emergency treatment,” Davidson says.

“Our approach will make sure communities right across the country have access to the care they need with our Community Health Service.”

She says community care clinics will be put in place in the highest need areas first such as South Auckland, which has an estimated shortage of about 127 general practitioners.

The Greens highlight that one in six New Zealand adults avoid visiting their doctor due to cost, a statistic significantly worse for Māori and Pacific communities.

When it comes to health, the Green Party’s plan includes:

• Immediate capitation funding boosts of over $100 million specifically for Māori and Pacific patients.

• The re-establishment of early bowel cancer screening for Pacific individuals from the age of 50, aiming towards universal free screening from age 45 by 2029.

• Expansion of culturally responsive health services, including kaupapa Māori and Pacific-led providers, to ensure care is culturally appropriate and accessible.

• Investment in mobile diagnostic vans staffed by GPs and nurses, set to provide healthcare directly to communities in rural and high-needs areas, significantly benefiting regions with high Pacific populations.

Green Party Co-Leaders and MPs will begin a tour across Aotearoa. The tour will start in May, and includes centres from Whangārei, Hamilton, Taranaki, Te Tairāwhiti, Nelson, Christchurch, Dunedin and across Auckland. More centres to be announced. Photo/PMN News/Ala Vailala

Workforce issues are also in the party’s budget with plans to improve Pacific healthcare professionals through scholarships and dedicated support for Pacific students pursuing medical careers.

Currently, less than two per cent of GPs identify as Pacific.

Greens co-leaders embrace in a hug during the party's alternative budget announcement. Photo/PMN News/Ala Vailala

“We will build the workforce we need to support our communities and ensure everyone has access to a GP by maximising the medical student caps at both Auckland and Otago University.”

When it comes to the numbers, the ACT Party slammed the Green’s alternative budget calling it a “fiscal fantasyland” with its seven new taxes and borrowing $40 billion. The Greens will release the alternative fiscal strategy next week.

Watch Greens co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick make the announcement here